Something about a lost art

Though I don't read them as often as I'd like, I try to check my friends' blogs regularly. Each person has a distinctive style and voice, allowing me a glimpse into their lives (which is helpful since I don't see any of them regularly). Aside from those glimpses, the former teacher in me enjoys the voice in each blog. Some are factual; some narrative; some reflective; and some comical. The beauty of each is that not one has a background in English (scratch that! one does), yet all have a way with words.

And this makes me reflect on my own writing. Quite frankly, my lexicon is a bit lacking (surprising since I taught English for ten years; you'd think my vocabulary would be more extensive/ descriptive/ etc.). And often I find myself at a loss for words, or at least for turn of phrase when writing.

I wonder if this has to do with the lost art of writing -- you know, putting pen to paper. In high school and college (though I did use the computer in both), I preferred composing my thoughts the "old school" way first and then typing them. Though typing is faster and more efficient, the act of actually getting all of my thoughts down on paper helped me decipher and focus those very thoughts. I could then scratch out, rewrite, and revise with all thoughts present, unlike now when I simply hit "delete" anytime I change my mind or shift focus, erasing forever the initial tangent/ thought/idea I considered exploring. Yet actually writing the words, seeing all my options, allowed me to figure out what I wanted to say.

Even now, I find that when I sit down to write (type), I have a general topic, but no real focus, or don't even know specifically what I want to share. Rather than taking the time to work through the brain fog, I simply type, hoping that somehow, some way, I'll figure out what I want to say and effectively communicate it.

Though the process has gotten easier (and, to be honest, it's more efficient), I still miss the physical act of putting pen to paper.  Maybe in a future season of life I'll have a chance to write, but in the meantime, I suppose I'll have to be satisfied with the alternative-- adapting the writing process to the technology available-- and savor those moments when I do get to put pen to paper, like making a weekly shopping list.